embrace the camera: daddy time

At our house, Daddy is the hero of playtime. Mama can be fun and all, and is handy to have around when food might be called for, but Daddy really knows how to play. He invents games that Mama would never think of–classics with vivid titles like Camel Ride (best played with all three children stacked atop each other on Daddy’s back), Double Fuzzy Roll, and Tentacle Monster. Last night E requested a new version of the latter: Penguin Monster, which involves Daddy waddling like a penguin in the direction of three children who scamper shrieking around the house and re-enter the living room by the other door, where they scream with glee upon encountering the same waddling monster. Repeat, over and over.

This usually takes place in the evenings, when all my camera can capture is blurs of movement, but one weekend morning I chanced upon Daddy having some of that fun with his little girl. It began with stories; Miss Independent initially thought she might sit on the other end of the couch.

But she came to see that curling up next to Daddy was a better option:

Shockingly, not everything went her way:

And Daddy had to tease a smile out of her.

Then he got a belly laugh.

And then the real fun began. This was some variation on one of the Monster games; I can’t remember the rules. I think she’s wielding a zebra as a weapon.

Coming around the corner to the hilarious discovery of Daddy lying in wait: